Brits Abroad: Ivan Toney dents Cristiano Ronaldo's Saudi title hopes as Jude Bellingham and Real Madrid finally hit top gear while Marcus Rashford goes 'offline' in Barcelona's derby win

It's no secret that the Real Madrid squad struggled to adapt to Xabi Alonso's methods in the first half of the season. That's why Barcelona are once again leading the way in La Liga, but the title race is by no means over yet, not least because Los Blancos finally appeared to hit top gear under their Spanish manager in their first game back after the winter break.

Madrid played host to sixth-placed Real Betis on Sunday in what was expected to be a highly competitive contest, but ultimately turned out to be extremely one-sided. Gonzalo Garcia, stepping in upfront for the injured Kylian Mbappe, bagged a perfect hat-trick while Raul Asencio and Fran Garcia also got on the scoresheet in a thumping 5-1 victory.

It was probably the most complete performance of the Alonso era to date, with stellar performances put in across the pitch. Jude Bellingham, however, shone the brightest, despite not being directly involved in any of the goals. The England midfielder drove Madrid forward at every opportunity, posting a 100 percent dribble completion rate and three key passes, and was also colossal out of possession with a combined 16 recoveries and ground duel wins.

This was a strong, unselfish turn that won't put Bellingham's name up in lights, but deserves to be heralded. He dominated the middle of the park and that allowed Madrid to systematically beat down a Betis side who had only lost one of their previous eight La Liga matches. If Bellingham can maintain that level through to the end of the campaign, Alonso's side will push Barca close, and the 22-year-old will be a shoo-in for a starting role for England at the 2026 World Cup.

Barcelona were far less impressive than Madrid in their latest outing, as they ground out a 2-0 win away at Espanyol in an end-to-end derby clash. A pair of late goals from substitutes Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski got Hansi Flick's team over the line, but they were lucky to go in level at the break, and one man was guilty of going completely missing: Marcus Rashford.

The Manchester United loanee only managed 28 touches and lost possession 15 times in a dismal first-half showing on the left of Barca's attack. It was so bad, in fact, that Flick hauled him off, with Fermin Lopez giving the hosts much-needed extra impetus upfront after his introduction at the start of the second period. The academy graduate set up both of Barca's goals, giving Rashford a lesson in how best to create and utilise space. 

Rashford received plenty of praise in his first five months at Camp Nou, but the Spanish media did not go easy on him after such a forgettable evening. Mundo Deportivo offered the most scathing assessment, accusing the 28-year-old of going "offline", and it could cost him a place in Flick's line up when Barca head off to Saudi Arabia for the Supercopa de Espana this week.

It has been reported that Barca have not yet decided whether to take up the option to buy Rashford outright for €30 million (£26m/$35m) in the summer, and on this evidence, he is certainly not worth his reported €345,000-per-week salary, nor does he warrant a World Cup call-up from Thomas Tuchel. Rashford's end product must improve dramatically, or else he will soon find himself back at Old Trafford with a very uncertain future at both club and international level.

Cristiano Ronaldo looked well on course to land the first major trophy of his Al-Nassr career after their first 10 games of the 2025-26 Saudi Pro League season, with maximum points collected under new manager Jorge Jesus. However, cracks appeared during their 2-2 draw away at Al-Ettifaq in their final match of 2025, and Al-Ahli inflicted more misery on Ronaldo and Co on Friday.

Al-Nassr suffered a 3-2 defeat in a thriller that saw both teams reduced to 10 men late on as Ivan Toney put Ronaldo in the shade. The seven-cap England striker scored twice inside the opening 20 minutes, producing a clinical first-time finish to break the deadlock before outpacing the Al-Nassr backline to reach a long ball and smashing the ball high into the net to double Al-Ahli's advantage.

A brace from Abdulelah Al-Amri hauled Al-Nassr back into the game, but Ronaldo's former Juventus team-mate Merih Demiral headed in the winner from Toney's cross early in the second half. Al-Nassr have since been displaced at the Pro League summit by Al-Hilal, while Al-Ahli are only seven points off the leaders in fourth, and must be taken seriously as contenders with Toney in this kind of form.

The 29-year-old is now up to 16 goals in all competitions for the season and could challenge Ronaldo for the Golden Boot if he can build on this ruthless display. Swapping the Premier League for Saudi Arabia may have harmed Toney's England prospects, but the former Brentford man remains a nightmare for defenders with his physicality and natural eye for goal, and could yet make a late case to be Harry Kane's deputy at the World Cup.

Napoli's Serie A title defence has not run as smoothly as fans would have hoped, with former Chelsea and Juventus boss Antonio Conte once again struggling to juggle domestic commitments with Champions League football, but they are not giving up the Scudetto without a fight. The champions secured another crucial three points away at Lazio on Sunday, running out 2-0 winners in a bad-tempered game that saw three players sent off. The result keeps them third in the table, only two points behind pace-setters Inter after 17 matches.

A delighted Conte told reporters after the final whistle: "We put in a high-level performance; playing here at Lazio is difficult for anyone. Doing so while taking control of the game from the start isn't easy; there was significant technical polish." Much of that polish came from Scott McTominay in midfield, who completed 96 per cent of his passes and made five ball recoveries.

An injury crisis has threatened to derail Napoli's season, and Conte has hinted that he wants some new players in during the January transfer window, with midfield an area of particular concern due to the continued absences of Kevin De Bruyne, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Billy Gilmour. However, sporting director Giovanni Manna suggested to DAZN before the game that Napoli may continue to rely on McTominay in a holding role, given how "decisive" he has been since being moved further back.

The Scotland international's attacking threat has been reduced, but his importance to Napoli has not. In a campaign of constant challenges, McTominay remains the one constant for Conte and an example to the rest of the team. It begs the question once again: why on earth did Manchester United sell him?!

Marseille ended 2025 on a high by beating Monaco 1-0, with Mason Greenwood bagging his 15th goal of the season in all competitions. Roberto De Zerbi's side were only five points behind Ligue 1 leaders Lens and four adrift of defending champions Paris Saint-Germain at that point, but that gap has been widened after the first week of the New Year.

Lens and PSG both picked up victories while Marseille went down 2-0 at home to relegation-threatened Nantes in one of the biggest shocks of the campaign to date. OM were the masters of their own downfall, too, as they lost all discipline in front of a frustrated Velodrome crowd.

Arthur Vermeeren was sent off for a late challenge on the Nantes goalkeeper in the 26th minute, and the visitors took the lead through Fabien Centonze five minutes later. Marseille were then reduced to nine men early in the second half after Bilal Nadil picked up a second yellow card, with a late penalty from Remy Cabella eventually wrapping up the victory for Nantes.

There were no excuses from De Zerbi either, as he told his post-match press conference: "If we play like this, if we don’t show more desire to win, we get what we deserve, which is no better than third place. We lacked energy, everyone. I don’t know why. Today, we would have played poorly even with 14 men, regardless of whether we defended with two or three players." 

Several Marseille players dramatically underperformed, but it's fair to say that Greenwood was the one most lacking in desire and energy. He only completed one of his six attempted dribbles and won just three of his 11 ground duels before being hooked for Amine Gouiri in the 73rd minute. De Zerbi has frequently been critical of Greenwood's work rate off the ball, and there is no hiding place for the ex-Manchester United forward on days like this, when he also falls flat in the final third.

Greenwood will no doubt bounce back and add to his impressive goal tally, but the 24-year-old has still to learn what it means to be a true team player, and Marseille are still too reliant on individual moments. A proper title tilt will be beyond them because PSG and Lens function far better as collective units.

Chris Smalling has not had much to smile about since leaving Europe for Saudi Arabia in 2024. Al-Fayha snapped the former England defender up for £18m ($24m) after he fell down the pecking order at Roma, but that has turned out to be a steep price for a player who is so far past his peak.

Al-Fayha could only muster a 13th-placed finish in the Pro League last term, and that's where they find themselves again, 12 matches into the current campaign. They slipped to their sixth defeat of the campaign on Saturday, and it was the most embarrassing yet, as Al-Kholood put five past Pedro Emanuel's team without reply.

Alfa Semedo was shown a red card on the hour mark, which made life more difficult for the home team, but they were never really in the game, and Smalling was arguably the worst player on the pitch. The ex-Manchester United star even gifted Al-Kholood their second goal, putting through his own net in a bizarre sequence that may go down as the most memorable of his entire spell in the Middle East.

When a deflected cross came in from the right flank, it looked like Smalling would sweep in and clear the danger, but he instead stuck out a leg half-heartedly and poked the ball past his own goalkeeper. At the ripe old age of 36, it seems that Smalling no longer has the mobility or enthusiasm for life in a top-flight league, even one still in the early phases of elite development like the Pro League.

It was, however, a triumphant afternoon for former Oxford United boss Des Buckingham. The English coach has had a tough start since joining Al-Kholood in the summer, but they are now level with Al-Fayha in the table and will hope to improve on last season's ninth-placed finish.